Irony, Trauma, and Compassion: Brendan Behan’s and Maeve Brennan’s Mid-century Short Prose

105 IRONY, TRAUMA, AND COMPASSION: BRENDAN BEHAN’S AND MAEVE BRENNAN’S MID-CENTURY SHORT PROSE Klá a Wi zany Hu ko á DOI: h ps://doi.o g/10.14712/2571452X.2024.67.7 Abs ac : Bo n only a ew yea s apa , B endan Behan (1923) and Mae e B ennan (1917) we e child en o independen I eland, aised by Republican amilies on he opposi e banks o he Li ey. Al hough hey p obably ne e me – in Dublin o New Yo k – he e a e ascina ing pa allels, as well as con as s, in hei biog aphies and in hei w i ing. This a icle compa es Behan’s and B ennan’s li e-w i ing sho p ose, published p edominan ly in The I ish P ess (1951-1957) and The New Yo ke (c. 1950s-1960s), espec i ely. B ennan’s con ibu ions o he “Talk o he Town” column unde he pseudonym The Long-Winded Lady, as well as a ew o he au obiog aphical pieces, a e analysed as a coun e pa o Behan’s I ish P ess column. The essay ocuses on h ee common a eas in he selec ed w i ing: i ony as B ennan’s and Behan’s esponse o hei posi ions o a emale and wo king-class w i e , espec i ely, hei e isi ing o pe sonal and collec i e memo ies o auma ic momen s in mode n I ish his o y, and a socially awa e and compassiona e ch onicling o he li es o o dina y people. Keywo ds: li e w i ing, wo king-class w i ing, women’s w i ing, Mae e B ennan, The New Yo ke , The Long-Winded Lady, lâneuse, B endan Behan, a el w i ing, The I ish P ess, mode n I ish his o y In oduc ion B endan Behan and Mae e B ennan bo h had in e es ing amily backg ounds wi h some sha ed aspec s, as well as many c ucial di e ences. While B ennan was aised in middle- o uppe -middle-class condi ions, Behan p oudly iden i ied wi h his wo king-class oo s. Whe e B ennan’s childhood memo ies b ing he back o he subu ban a ea o Sou h Dublin, Behan desc ibes enemen housing on he opposi e bank o he Li ey. In he la e eens, B ennan mo ed wi h he amily o Washing on, D.C. as he daugh e o he i s en oy o he I ish F ee S a e o he Klá a Wi zany Hu ko á 106 Uni ed S a es. She comple ed he high school and uni e si y educa ion he e, and by he 1950s was a w i e -in- esidence o The New Yo ke magazine. An elegan and sophis ica ed u bani e, B ennan became a New Yo k lâneuse, as well as a keepe o memo ies o he u bulen imes ha she had expe ienced in I eland as a child. Six yea s younge , Behan li ed in Dublin un il 1939, when he was a es ed on a mission o he IRA and sen enced o a bo s al in England. This began a longe se ies o inca ce a ions ou side o as well as in I eland, du ing which ime he would ga he inspi a ion, ead, w i e, and make use ul acquain ances in he li e a y ci cles. In he 1950s, Behan es ablished himsel as a w i e , playw igh , poe , as well as a jou nalis in Dublin and ab oad; he s a o his li e a y ca ee can be aced o his ime in Pa is in he la e 1940s, whe e he was exposed o an a is ically ui ul combina ion o con empo a y in ellec uals’ company, highe eedom o he p ess, bu also ma e ial po e y.1 These di e en social con ex s (and possibly also hei gende ) a e e lec ed in he way ha he w i ing o B ennan and Behan has been ma ke ed. While he book co e s o Behan’s published no els and plays would o en make di ec e e ences o his alcoholism and bohemian epu a ion, bo de ing on s age I ishness, B ennan’s collec ed p ose has been consis en ly published wi h e e ences o elegance and sophis ica ion. Especially he mo e ecen co e s o en show he posing in a la ishly u nished li ing oom on one o a se e al pho og aphs aken by he pho og aphe Ka l Bissinge in 1948. The ac ha B ennan, oo, s uggled wi h alcohol, as well as wi h keeping a balanced budge , is no hema ised. O cou se, she ne e became he celeb i y ha Behan was, and he public conduc was immeasu ably mo e con olled. As B ennan’s biog aphe Angela Bou ke explains, Bissinge himsel hough o he as “wa ch ul and disdain ul.”2 The e is also sadness abou he on mos o he publicly a ailable pho og aphs, including hose aken by Bissinge . In di e en ways, bo h ypes o book co e s emphasise he less posi i e elemen s in Behan’s and B ennan’s li es. Howe e , he w i ing analysed in his a icle comes om a p omising ime o p oli ic ac i i y and success o bo h ( he 1950s o Behan and he 1950s-1960s o B ennan). Nex o being commissioned o w i e a column in The I ish P ess in 1954, Behan’s plays The Qua e Fellow (1954, Dublin) and The Hos age (1958, London) we e p oduced o he i s ime, and his au obiog aphical no el Bo s al Boy (1958) was published. O e in he US, B ennan 1 Fo de ails, see Dei d e McMahon’s wo k on he subjec , including he essay in he p esen olume. 2 Angela Bou ke, Mae e B ennan: Wi , S yle and T agedy. An I ish W i e in New Yo k (London: Pimlico, 2005), 147. I ony, T auma, and Compassion 107 became a alued membe o The New Yo ke ’s s a . Bo h also go ma ied – B ennan in 1954 and Behan in 1955. Despi e he ma i al unhappiness, which soon lead o a di o ce, B ennan w o e ac i ely un il he ea ly 1970s, when he li e became inc easingly e a ic. She s a ed su e ing om men al b eakdowns, mo ing “in and ou o eali y,”3 as he li e-long edi o and iend William Maxwell ph ased i . When she died in a men al ins i u ion in 1993, she had been la gely o go en (al hough he w i e he sel seems o ha e hallucina ed ha she had become a egula I ish P ess con ibu o owa ds he end o he li e).4 Behan’s alcoholism and he ela ed heal h issues ended his ca ee a decade ea lie han B ennan’s. Since 1962, he was no longe able o physically w i e, aping his wo k – la e p epa ed o publica ion by his iend and edi o Rae Je s – ins ead. Su e ing om se e e diabe es which b ough him o hospi al se e al imes, Behan died om li e ailu e in 1964. Acco ding o John B annigan, “celeb i y killed him.”5 Despi e hei agic ends, B ennan’s and Behan’s w i ing is cha ac e ised by wi , humou , and compassion wi h which hey obse e people a ound hem. T ansg essing a ious bounda ies, especially hose o gende and class, bo h also e u n o di icul memo ies o u bulen imes in mode n I ish his o y. Finally, hei w i ing consis en ly ques ions he cu en s a e o socie y and sub ly c i icises social injus ice. This essay examines hese hemes in Behan’s and B ennan’s selec ed li e-w i ing p ose. Unlike Behan, who is mos ly amous o his plays and o Bo s al Boy, B ennan’s almos en i e oeu e consis s o he New Yo ke con ibu ions – a pos humously disco e ed no ella, The Visi o (2000), and he ea ly pieces o Ha pe ’s Bazaa magazine a e he only excep ions. B ennan’s sho p ose has been collec ed and published se e al imes in he li e ime and a e . This a icle d aws on wo olumes o he selec ed w i ing: The Long-Winded Lady: No es om he New Yo ke (1969) and, o a lesse ex en , The Sp ings o A ec ion (1997). While he o me is a selec ion o B ennan’s b ie essays published in The New Yo ke ’s “Talk o he Town” column unde he pseudonym The Long-Winded Lady, he la e con ains sho s o ies, including b ie au obiog aphical ske ches o he childhood in I eland. B annigan’s newly published collec ion o Behan’s newspape con ibu ions, A Bi o a W i e : B endan Behan’s Collec ed Sho P ose (2023), is made use o as he coun e pa . Unlike he asso ed olume The Long- Winded Lady, his is a la ge , ch onologically o ganised book. I p esen s Behan’s 3 William Maxwell, “In oduc ion,” in Mae e B ennan, The Sp ings o A ec ion: S o ies o Dublin (Bos on and New Yo k: Hough on Mi lin, 1998), 10. 4 Bou ke, Mae e B ennan, 275. 5 John B annigan, “In oduc ion,” in A Bi o a W i e : B endan Behan’s Collec ed Sho P ose, ed. John B annigan (Dublin: The Lillipu P ess, 2023), x ii. Klá a Wi zany Hu ko á 108 column and o he occasional pieces, p edominan ly published in The I ish P ess, om he pe iod be ween 1951 and 1957. As such, A Bi o a W i e ep esen s a mo e uni ied co pus han he a ious exis ing olumes o B ennan’s wo k do (while also con aining signi ican ly mo e ma e ial han Je s’s ea lie selec ion o Behan’s I ish P ess pieces published as Hold You Hou and Ha e Ano he in 1963). B ennan’s w i ing o The New Yo ke is mo e a ied han Behan’s jou nalis ic ou pu , including a la ge numbe o sho s o ies, and i is gene ally no o ganised in ch onological o de in published collec ions. Behan’s I ish P ess con ibu ions ollow a s anda dised pa e n in e ms o s yle and leng h. Only a ew pages long and con aining subheadings, hey can be desc ibed as b ie li e-w i ing essays as well as social commen a ies and, in many cases, a el w i ing. A sui able coun e pa o hese a e B ennan’s Long-Winded pieces. They oo we e in ended o a speci ic column, and signed by a pe sona c ea ed o he pu pose. A dis inc s yle and leng h a e ca ied o e om one piece o ano he . These con ibu ions span a sligh ly longe pe iod – he 1950s o he ea ly 1970s. Addi ionally, The New Yo ke also published a ew li e-w i ing pieces by B ennan in he ea ly 1950s, whe e she e u ns o he childhood in I eland. These a e b ie , w i en om a i s -pe son pe spec i e, and signed by he (as opposed o he Long-Winded w i ing), which makes hem ano he sui able coun e pa o Behan’s I ish P ess p ose. Se ious W i e s B ennan and Behan bo h came om I ish Republican amilies whe e much alue was placed on li e a u e. Behan’s a he S ephen was “a passiona e eade o li e a u e,”6 as B annigan has ph ased i , while his wi e Ka hleen in oduced B endan and his siblings o a a ie y o I ish olk songs. Behan quo es om some o he songs om he amily epe oi e in his a icles, as well as b inging a en ion o he ac ha his uncle, Ka hleen’s b o he Peada Kea ney, was he au ho o he I ish na ional an hem. Wo king in domes ic se ice o Maude Gonne MacB ide, Ka hleen was also acquain ed wi h people o impo ance in he a s and in poli ics, especially om he e olu iona y ci cles.7 In bo h amilies, w i ing was also in e wined wi h poli ics. Mae e’s mo he Úna B ennan, née Anas asia Bolge , had been an ac i e membe o he non-sec a ian eminis o ganisa ion Inghinidhe na hÉi eann be o e becoming a housewi e, and i is likely ha she had been con ibu ing o he “Women Ways” column o he newspape Echo.8 Robe was 6 B annigan, “In oduc ion,” xi . 7 B annigan, “In oduc ion,” xi . I is hus possible ha she had me B ennan’s pa en s, al hough no e idence o his seems o ha e been p ese ed. 8 Bou ke, Mae e B ennan, 11, 17-20. I ony, T auma, and Compassion 109 a jou nalis , w i e , playw igh , and diploma . He was also one o he ounding membe s and he gene al manage o The I ish P ess, which he le in 1933 when Éamon de Vale a appoin ed him Sec e a y o he I ish Lega ion in Washing on, D.C.9 Howe e , he con ibu ed o I ish newspape s h oughou his li e, including The I ish P ess.10 Despi e hese amily backg ounds, B ennan’s and Behan’s p ose exp esses sel - doub as a as hei own iden i y as w i e s is conce ned, mos ly in connec ion o hei gende and social class, espec i ely. In he biog aphy o Behan, Je s emembe s suddenly disce ning insecu i y behind his bois e ous demeanou as hey we e abou o publish Bo s al Boy: “I had no ealised, un il his momen , how eal was his lack o con idence in himsel as a w i e , o how much i ma e ed o him wha people hough o his wo k.”11 Bo h B ennan and Behan ea he issue wi h i ony and by way o sub le, wi y ema ks, as his sec ion o he a icle will illus a e. In he 1950s, bo h es ablished hemsel es as espec ed w i e s. Each had w i en and published some wo k al eady in he 1940s and alen , as well as acquain ances, played a ole in he building o hei ca ee s. In 1951, Behan s a ed con ibu ing o The I ish P ess, and he was o e ed a egula column wo yea s la e . B annigan poin s ou ha Jim McGuinness, he edi o behind his decision, knew Behan om he Cu agh camp, whe e bo h had been in e ed in he 1940s o hei IRA ac i i ies. Howe e , B annigan also highligh s he young man’s p e ious success: “I is e idence o he impac ha Behan had al eady had as a young w i e ha McGuinness chose o ask him alongside mo e es ablished w i e s such as Lennox Robinson and F ancis MacManus.”12 O e he A lan ic, B ennan’s ca ee had ollowed a no oo di e en ajec o y. The w i e was headhun ed by The New Yo ke in 1949, whe e she emained o he es o he ca ee . B ennan had p e iously w i en o he emale-led ashion magazine Ha pe ’s Bazaa , a posi ion ha migh ha e been o e ed o he due o amily connec ions.13 The New Yo ke was a p es igious weekly magazine, ocusing on a a ie y o opics and gen es, including new ic ion. B ennan’s pe iod o p oli ic w i ing – he 1950s and 1960s – pa ly o e laps wi h ha o Behan who, as B annigan has ph ased i , “was a his mos con iden and conscien ious as a w i e ”14 in he o me decade. Howe e , I eland was ex emely conse a i e a he ime, which mani es ed i sel , among else, in 9 Bou ke, Mae e B ennan, 111-14. 10 Bou ke, Mae e B ennan, 105, 198. 11 Rae Je s, B endan Behan: Man and Showman (London: Hu chinson & Co, 1966), 59. 12 B annigan, “In oduc ion,” xi-xii. 13 Bou ke, Mae e B ennan, 138. 14 B annigan, “In oduc ion,” xii. Klá a Wi zany Hu ko á 110 igo ous censo ship o li e a u e. Despi e being based p ima ily in Dublin, he el ha “Dubline s we e slow o ecognize his alen s,”15 acco ding o B annigan. Behan became a celeb a ed au ho and playw igh in e na ionally, and he would a el ab oad o F ance, B i ain, and he US o see his plays s aged o o nego ia e w i ing con ac s.16 In con as , B ennan’s ic ion was p ima ily in ended o and ead by an Ame ican audience. He sho p ose would i s ha e been published in he US, and i was only occasionally epublished in I eland du ing he li e ime,17 he coun y ully claiming he w i e as i s own only a e he dea h. In he US, howe e , she was conside ed an I ish w i e , despi e spending he en i e adul li e in and a ound New Yo k Ci y and a elling ab oad only spo adically. Ra he han hei na ionali y, i was B ennan’s gende and Behan’s wo king- class backg ound ha placed hem in somewha insecu e posi ions in e ms o iden i y as w i e s, especially a he beginning o hei ca ee s. Despi e he social p i ilege, B ennan was a woman in a male p o ession. While she was lucky o ha e a suppo i e o ice a mosphe e, The New Yo ke ’s “subsc ibe s and edi o s we e mos ly men, al hough women ead i and w o e o i ,”18 as Bou ke summa ises. She was employed he e when he magazine came unde a ack om he c i ics Tom Wol e and Ben Yagoda in he mid-1960s, who had accused i o ca e ing o he subu ban middle-class, exp essing s ong ese a ions abou he quali y o i s emale s a .19 In 1954 ( he yea when Behan s a ed publishing his I ish P ess column), B ennan in en ed he pe sona o he Long-Winded Lady. Acco ding o Bou ke, she migh ha e chosen he pseudonym “ o d aw i onic a en ion o he p e ailing eeling ha women alk oo much,”20 hus esponding o gende ed s e eo ypes ha could be used o diminish he wo k. In con as o Behan, she also posi ioned he sel as an uppe -middle-class u bani e by e e ing o he sel as a “lady,” as well as h ough he s yle and con en o he w i ing mo e gene ally. The Lady equen s elegan Manha an ca és, she knows ashion and d esses wi h as e, and he language is highly elegan . The eade s lea n e y li le abou he as a pe son, besides he ac ha she lo es o ead, w i e, and people-wa ch. Behan, on he o he hand, sha es many biog aphical and pe sonal de ails abou himsel in his p ose. 15 B annigan, “In oduc ion,” xii. 16 Al hough i is unlikely ha he me B ennan when s aying in New Yo k, hey we e almos ce ainly loca ed in he same ci y o a leas some ime. 17 Bou ke, Mae e B ennan, 198, 267. 18 Bou ke, Mae e B ennan, 163. 19 Bou ke, Mae e B ennan, 190-91; Ann Pe e s, “A T a ele in Residence: Mae e B ennan and he Las Days o New Yo k,” Women’s S udies Qua e ly 33, no. 3/4 (2005): 66-67. 20 Bou ke, Mae e B ennan, 191. I ony, T auma, and Compassion 111 He also commonly engages wi h people, epo ing his in e ac ions wi h iends and s ange s alike. In con as , he Lady obse es hose a ound he om a dis ance, becoming a new gene a ion o he lâneuse. Nex o e e ing o such eminine consume is ac i i ies as clo hes shopping, she demons a es he good educa ion and cul u al capi al (such as by e e ing o canonical w i e s and wo ks o li e a u e), which s eng hens he posi ion as a na a o . Finally, a speci ic sense o i ony and sel -i ony is a ypical ea u e o he Long-Winded w i ing. I is so , in-be ween- he-lines, ye sub e si e. Doubling down on he s e eo ype ha women no only speak oo much, bu wha hey say is also o li le consequence, some o he pieces cle e ly push he bounda ies o how much pe sonal musing he eade s will ole a e. Fo ins ance, in “A Young Lady wi h a Lap” (1966), we encoun e he na a o closely obse ing a young gi l in a “ lu y whi e mink s ole a ound he shoulde s and bosom.”21 The Lady wonde s abou he gi l’s anspa en handbag, con aining “no hing excep a gold lips ick” (66): She mus ha e had a pocke in he s ole, whe e she kep he money. In ha case, why no pu he lips ick in he pocke and lea e he handbag a home? She mus ha e had a e y well conside ed eason o ca ying he handbag, and i would ha e o be a be e eason han ha he handbag ma ched he shoes. I wish I knew wha he eason was. And hen, o cou se, he e may no ha e been a pocke in he s ole. (68) P esen ing he sel as somewha idiculous by sha ing hough s ha many o he eade s will conside oo i ial, he Lady also demons a es he skill wi h language. She desc ibes he gi l’s “ igh whi e c epe d ess” as “much whi e han lesh,” while in he handbag, he lips ick “ oll[s] a ound like dice” (66). In he in oduc ion o The Long-Winded Lady: No es om he New Yo ke , Belinda McKeon alks abou an “ac o ebellion” in his con ex : She made no apologies o he nosiness, and she made no apologies o he de ian ly quo idian de ail o he e ands, o he ou es on oo , o he andom hough s and wonde ings and memo ies which popped in o he head and back ou again.22 21 Mae e B ennan, “A Young Lady wi h a Lap,” in The Long-Winded Lady: No es om he New Yo ke (Dublin: The S inging Fly, 2017), 66. Fu he e e ences o his edi ion a e gi en in pa en heses in he ex . 22 Belinda McKeon, “In oduc ion,” in Mae e B ennan, The Long-Winded Lady, xiii. Klá a Wi zany Hu ko á 112 Na iga ing he insecu e posi ion as a p o essional w i e o a well-es ablished, p ima ily male magazine, B ennan engaged wi h gende ed s e eo ypes abou women in a c ea i e and sub e si e way, b inging a en ion o hem while also p oudly claiming he eminini y. In con as , Behan’s somewha p eca ious posi ion as a w i e was ied o his wo king-class backg ound, and his wo k hema ises a double iden i y, in his case ha o a ained housepain e and a alen ed young w i e . Some imes, Behan sea ches o a alida ion ha w i ing is a legi ima e and wo h-while ac i i y o an adul man. He ecei es such eassu ance when isi ing he A an Islands: “Nowhe e else ha e I ound i so easy o si down a he ypew i e , and wo k away, wi hou eeling ha I was in any way ega ded as a c iminal luna ic o idle endencies.”23 In his 1953 piece i led “These Fishe men Publicise Gaelic a I s Bes ,” Behan eels encou aged in his w i ing by he alue ha people on he islands place on s o y elling, and by ex ension, li e a u e. In o he si ua ions, w i ing is also seen as a espec able ac i i y, bu people doub ha Behan himsel engages in i in a se ious manne . In “Jou ney o he Jewel o Wicklow” (1952), he explains o a ellow passenge he pu pose o his ip o he coun y: “I’m going o – e – w i e.”24 Bo h he and his in e locu o exp ess unce ain y abou his, and he la e s a s ques ioning him: “W i e wha ? Do you mean you will w i e oday? Tomo ow?” Oh, any day, now. “Tomo ow, p obably.” “Wha so o hing will you w i e?” “An a icle o a magazine in Pa is.” “Pa is, hey?” “Oh, and a Ballad Make ’s Sa u day Nigh .” His ace imp o ed. “Really.” Bu hen suspicious. “You mean he adio p og amme. A e you su e?” “Oh, hones , si . I ha e a con ac o m he e in my pocke . I do i o en, si . Really, I do, si .”25 Excep on he A an Islands, a w i e is p esumably someone om a highe social s a um, and Behan he e implici ly hema ises his p ejudice. His eac ion a he end seems exagge a ed, and he iple use o “si ” eads as a joke a he ellow passenge ’s expense. 23 B endan Behan, “These Fishe men Publicise Gaelic a I s Bes ,” in A Bi o a W i e : B endan Behan’s Collec ed Sho P ose (Dublin: The Lillipu P ess, 2023), 31. 24 B endan Behan, “Jou ney o he Jewel o Wicklow,” in A Bi o a W i e , 17. 25 Behan, “Jou ney o he Jewel o Wicklow,” 17. I ony, T auma, and Compassion 113 As in B ennan’s w i ing, he w i e esponds o any po en ial dis espec wi h i ony. No by acciden does B annigan’s collec ion ake in o i s i le a pa o he dialogue in “To he Moun ains Bound” (1951). Commencing a new job as a house pain e , Behan is called by his boss “a bi o a w i e .”26 In his head, he o me begins o ci e a posi i e e iew o his p e iously published wo k, wo d by wo d: “M Behan handles a delica e subjec wi h sensi i i y and as e […] abo e all he has inhe i ed he i ue o his ace o w i ing as he alks and alking as he sings in wo d a angemen s, sensuous, syn ac ical.”27 He has e en memo ised he ull bibliog aphic in o ma ion o he e iew. I his makes he young w i e seem a li le idiculous, his I ish audience migh conside he e iewe ’s desc ip ion o hei “ ace” e en mo e so. The mul i-laye ed i ony pe mea ing his sec ion esul s in ambigui y whe e Behan is able o complain abou he lack o app ecia ion ha I eland has o his alen , p aise his own w i ing, and amuse his eade s a he same ime. In B ennan’s case, e en a decidedly posi i e esponse o he wo k p o oked a play ul, ye dismissi e esponse. When an en husias ic eade , M . Boyce, w o e o The New Yo ke in 1959 asking o mo e s o ies by his w i e , she de lec ed he implied homage. In o ming him ha “poo Miss B ennan died,”28 she w o e a ull le e in esponse, signing i “William (Bill) Maxwell.” Poking un a bo h he gende and na ionali y, she epo s ha ing “sho he sel in he back wi h he aid o a small hand mi o a he oo o he main al a o S Pa ick’s Ca hed al on Sh o e Tuesday.” (5-6) A e adding mo e de ails, “Maxwell” makes an o e : I ha e a lo o li e au ho s, M . Boyce, i you would like o ask abou any o hem, i he e is any hing you would like o know abou any o hem, I’ll be happy o oblige. Mos o hem ha e s udio po ai s, eady o aming, some li e size, some e en en amille, as we say a ound he e […]. (6) He e, B ennan demons a es wha Bou ke e e s o as “a inely uned sense o he idiculous,”29 while also cons an ly diminishing he sel and he (allegedly pos humous) achie emen . Will he e be li e-size po ai s o B ennan when she ac ually dies? 1959 was also he yea o he di o ce. Wi h no child en and he majo i y o ela i es li ing in I eland, B ennan may ha e el i unlikely ha any o he po ai s would be “en amille.” Conside ing how she will be ecalled, he 26 B endan Behan, “To he Moun ains Bound,” in A Bi o a W i e , 3. 27 Behan, “To he Moun ains Bound,” 3. 28 Maxwell, “In oduc ion,” 5. Fu he e e ences a e gi en in pa en heses in he ex . 29 Bou ke, Mae e B ennan, 25. Klá a Wi zany Hu ko á 120 Amused, Behan admi es bo h sides’ de e mined e o o b idge he language gap. The piece also documen s in i id colou s he mee ing o wo mino i y cul u es ha ha e by now been la gely ans o med, ha o he u al Gael ach wi h ha o he I ish T a elle s. In s o ies wi h an u ban se ing, Behan de o es much space o epo s o con e sa ions be ween himsel and he cha ac e s Ba d, C ippen, M s B enning,59 and Ma ia Concep a. Mee ing in pubs, hese a e e e ans and hei widows, and Behan is a lis ene o a la ge ex en han elsewhe e. As B annigan obse es, “[ ]he e is a p e ailing sense o nos algia o he eceding gene a ions and communi ies o he ea ly wen ie h cen u y – he ebels o 1916, he e e ans o he Boe Wa and he Fi s Wo ld Wa ,”60 in his w i ing. Told wi h many in e up ions om hose a ound he able, key his o ical e en s a e ecalled h ough sho pe sonal anecdo es and eminiscences. Le ou o he ex books, such s o ies and pe spec i es would ha e been los when his gene a ion was gone, sa e o he w i ing o hose like Behan. Je s emembe s: “He was always passiona ely in e es ed in people and would emembe how hey ac ed, alked, looked and smel down o he e y las de ail; and his memo y was a mo e accu a e han any came a.”61 Bo h Behan and he Long-Winded Lady o en u n hei gaze o he mundane, ma ginal, and o e looked, which hey desc ibe wi h me iculous a en ion o de ail. As B annigan explains wi h espec o he o me , he was “a collec o and elle o s o ies,” aluing hose abou amous people o he same ex en as hose abou his amily and neighbou s.62 This is e en mo e ue abou B ennan, who seemed genuinely disin e es ed in he celeb i ies ha she occasionally me in Manha an. “I like seeing mo ie s a s as I go on my way a ound he ci y,”63 she explains in “Mo ie S a s a La ge” (1960). Bu o he , hei alue is in cas ing a long shadow: “I like ecognising hem and knowing who hey a e and knowing ha jus by being whe e I am hey make me in isible – a ace in he c owd, ano he pai o s a ing eyes.”64 Hiding in he glow o a ilm s a , he Lady can ca y on wi h he lâne ie unobse ed. Unlike Behan, who in e ac s wi h people in a delibe a e manne , o en and wi h enjoymen , B ennan’s lâneuse s i es o emain ou o sigh . 59 This is Behan’s nickname o a M s B ennan, who seems o be a soldie ’s widow and bea s no esemblance o Mae e B ennan, he mo he , o he sis e s Eme and De y. A di e en woman wi h his su name, a M s John B ennan, also appea s b ie ly in “Ad ice om an Emig an ” (1955), in A Bi o a W i e , 277-79, bu he e is no connec ion o Mae e B ennan’s amily ei he . 60 B annigan, “In oduc ion,” xiii. 61 Je s, B endan Behan, 17. 62 B annigan, “In oduc ion,” xiii-i . 63 Mae e B ennan, “Mo ie S a s a La ge,” in The Long-Winded Lady, 88. 64 B ennan, “Mo ie S a s a La ge,” 88. I ony, T auma, and Compassion 121 Bo h Behan and B ennan also commen ed on he ebuilding o hei espec i e ci ies, once mo e wi h a en ion o people and hei li es. B ennan conscien iously mapped he ea ing down o old buildings in New Yo k, exp essing dis us and ea conce ning he ci y’s ongoing me amo phosis. A cons an h ea ha one o he Lady’s a ou i e ca és o es au an s will be o ced o close down, due o he whole s ee being demolished, keeps hanging in he ai in many pieces. She also wo ies abou he people cu en ly li ing in he ci y, d awing a en ion o he lonely and he poo . The e is o en a s a k con as be ween he ashionable es ablishmen s he Lady equen s and he su ounding New Yo k s ee s. She keeps he dis ance om begga s and s ange indi iduals walking by, bu she o en w i es abou hem, hema ising guil o e he social gap be ween he sel and he less o una e. In “Gi ing Money in he S ee ” (1960), she passiona ely a gues agains hose who wi hhold money o ea o being decei ed: I say ha I would a he gi e he qua e and walk on ee han no gi e i and pay ou he es o he day, o e en an hou o en minu es o he day, in doub : should I ha e gi en i a e all, he chances a e su ely i y pe cen agains he pe son’s being a aud, and so on.65 In Behan’s column, much less a en ion is paid o begga s and people wi hou a home. Howe e , injus ice is hema ised h oughou , especially as ega ds he wo king class. In “A Wo d o he B a e Conduc o ” (1955), he w i e akes a s ance in a ou o bus d i e s and dus men: “I’m so y o say ha all o us a e inclined o be un easonable wi h public se an s who a e, a e all, no paid o be public doo ma s.”66 Behan also saw he mode nisa ion o Dublin, especially he slum a eas, in a posi i e ligh and as a necessi y. In “Dublin Is G and in he Sun” om 1955, he explains: The new houses a S Anne’s Es a e in Clon a made me eel so p oud ha when a o eign newspape man asked me wha he should see I wan ed o b ing him he e. (He wasn’ ha ing any; i wasn’ wha he came o .)67 The ac ha isi o s a he p e e he s a us quo is also men ioned in “Wha A e They a wi h he Ro unda?” (1954), whe e Behan coun e s: “Le hem ea he whole lo down and build new mode n la s o he people.”68 A guing ha he 65 Mae e B ennan, “Gi ing Money in he S ee ,” in The Long-Winded Lady, 142. 66 B endan Behan, “A Wo d o he B a e Conduc o ,” in A Bi o a W i e , 312. 67 B endan Behan, “Dublin Is G and in he Sun,” in A Bi o a W i e , 242. 68 B endan Behan, “Wha A e They a wi h he Ro unda?” in A Bi o a W i e , 134. Klá a Wi zany Hu ko á 122 Dubline s’ wel a e should be eason enough no o conse e he ci y as a his o y museum, Behan also b ings a en ion o he social inequali y ha is p esen in i s cu en a chi ec u e: The Wide S ee s Commissione s buil well in hei day o a class ha only allowed he ances o s o he la e inhabi an s in o hei beau i ul homes as se an s. Bu le I eland, building o i s own people, do he bes ha mode n echnique can do o hem.69 Di e en delinea ions appea in B ennan’s and Behan’s w i ing abou people and u ban a chi ec u e. While he o me is usually sepa a ed om he less o una e by an in isible wall, he la e doesn’ hesi a e o engage in con e sa ion wi h anybody he mee s. Howe e , bo h w i e s sha e a ocus on he mundane and also on he unjus , and al hough exp essed in di e en ways, hei sense o compassion is compa able. Conclusion Jus as hei pa en s may ha e known each o he om he Dublin Republican ci cles (al hough he e is no e idence o his as ye ), Behan heo e ically could ha e me B ennan when he isi ed New Yo k in he 1960s. While such an encoun e p obably ne e ook place, his essay has a emp ed o c ea e a con e sa ion be ween hei w i ing, simila ye di e en in a a ie y o aspec s. Th ough hei use o i ony, B ennan and Behan bo h sub ly hema ise hei insecu e posi ions as w i e s – he o me as a woman, albei socially p i ileged, in a p edominan ly male p o ession, and he la e as a wo king-class I ishman. Bo h g ew up in Republican amilies, which pa ly shaped hei expe ience o I eland, especially as child en. Some o he w i ing add esses pe sonal and collec i e memo ies o auma ic e en s in mode n I ish his o y, especially ela ing o he e olu iona y pe iod (pe sonal pa icula ly in B ennan’s case, and collec i e in Behan’s). B ennan’s p ose also commen s wi h disapp o al on he Ca holic educa ional sys em in I eland. Mos signi ican ly, he wo w i e s sha e a deep in e es in o he people and hei li es, wi h special a en ion o o dina y and ma ginalised g oups and indi iduals. While Behan would ch onicle in e ac ions be ween Dubline s, including wa e e ans and hose he me du ing his a els a ound I eland and Eu ope, B ennan ocused on New Yo ke s, epo ing mos ly om a dis ance, ye me iculously and wi h compassion. 69 Behan, “Wha A e They a wi h he Ro unda?” 134. I ony, T auma, and Compassion 123 Acknowledgemen I would like o hank Mike S odda o b inging my a en ion o Mae e B ennan and o p o iding in aluable insigh s in o he w i ing. BIBLIOGRAPHY Behan, B endan. “Dublin Is G and in he Sun.” In A Bi o a W i e : B endan Behan’s Collec ed Sho P ose, edi ed by John B annigan, 241-42. Dublin: The Lillipu P ess, 2023. Behan, B endan. “The Family Was in he Rising.” In A Bi o a W i e : B endan Behan’s Collec ed Sho P ose, edi ed by John B annigan, 234-37. Dublin: The Lillipu P ess, 2023. Behan, B endan. “How So y They A e o Re u n.” In A Bi o a W i e : B endan Behan’s Collec ed Sho P ose, edi ed by John B annigan, 158-61. Dublin: The Lillipu P ess, 2023. 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